Novel and practical approaches to the prevention of neutropenia associated with myelosuppressive chemotherapy

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Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

Neutropenia, a decrease in the number of a type of white blood cell (WBC) in the body, is a common complication in patients undergoing myelosuppressive chemotherapy that can result in serious, life-threatening infections. Febrile neutropenia (FN), or neutropenia accompanied by a fever, poses an even greater risk to patients and the frequent treatment complication results in over 100,000 hospitalizations in the U.S. each year. Neutropenia can manifest up to twelve days following treatment with a chemotherapy agent and FN occurs in about eight per 1,000 patients receiving chemotherapy. Fever is defined as a single oral temperature of 38.3+ °C or 38.0+ °C over the course of an hour, with neutropenia defined as less than 500 neutrophils/mcL or less than 1000 with a predicted decline to less 500 over the following 48 hours. Development of FN may lead to hospitalization with costs estimated at approximately $15,000 per visit, and it may also complicate care by reducing chemotherapy relative dose intensity (RDI) and possibly compromise treatment efficacy and lower survival rates.

Target Audience:

Oncologists and hematologists; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists who practice in oncology; and other HCPs with an interest in or who clinically encounter patients with FN or at risk of developing it.

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